'Blood Guacamole': Is the Avocado a Superfood or Supervillain?

by Mozhy Hosseini-Ashrafi

Avocados: the new global trend in food, with more potassium than bananas, monounsaturated fatty acids and fibre. Avocados are the new super-food for vegetarians, vegans and meat-lovers. However, the surge in avocados has lead to multiple issues in countries that produce them, Mexico in particular.

The natural environment of Mexico is being compromised for the increased demand in avocados. Around 40% of the world’s avocado production occurs in Mexico and this leads to the cutting down of Mexico’s delicate woodlands to make space for avocado orchards. Due to this excessive planting of avocado farms, the Mexican government tried to take action and regulate the increase in the practice of avocado farming. With the increasing pressure for avocados, and the restrictions from the police, farmers are forced to plant their avocados under the tree canopy to hide them, illegally.

This increase in illegal activity means farmers have become susceptible to the intervention of cartels in Mexico. These farmers are forced to sell their produce for a cheap price to cartels, who are able to make a profit of them by exporting them. This leaves the farmers with an unsustainable income and provides power to cartels within Mexico, decreasing the security of Mexican residents.

The illegal aspects of the avocado farming has also led to a slip in health and safety regulations; chemicals sprayed in avocado orchards lead to breathing and stomach problems for residents. Farmers have a low quality of life with long hours, and no social security. These factors have led to the nickname of the popular nacho dip ‘blood guacamole’.

These negative aspects of avocado production are are exacerbated by the detrimental environmental impact of avocados. If avocados are shipped to UK from Mexico, fossil fuels are being used and contributing to global warming, leading to rising sea levels and threats to species such as polar bears.

This also excludes the plastic packaging of avocados which hurts marine and wildlife. A lot of food that we have turned to as alternative, healthy option has an extremely detrimental impact on the local and global environment, including avocados and other imported goods . With the increased awareness among the British population on plastic and sustainability, we have a responsibility to understand the source of the foods we eat and aim to become more sustainable, where we can.